Watching the Endeavour Launch
Evidence of Endeavour
Originally uploaded by aswitzer.
In early August, Carrie and Tobey and I headed to Florida for our annual trip to check on our condo and enjoy a family vacation. What made this trip special was that we also planned it around the NASA Space Shuttle Mission - STS -118 - a day launch from Kennedy Space Center, which is less than a half hour drive from our condo. Carrie had seen a night launch years ago, and Tobey and I had not yet seen a launch before. We were all very excited.
Planning a vacation around a space shuttle launch can be tricky. The best approach is to plan the start of the vacation as near to the launch as possible - which then allows for delays in the launch - typically from the weather. Our launch changed days a couple of times before we got to Florida, but when the day of the launch came, the weather was perfect.
The other part of the story is the fact that I met up with my cousin Steve Tyler for the first time in around 20 years, just so happens to work on the space program. Steve and his wife Caroline have a son Aidan that is near Tobey in age. Steve was gracious enough to take Carrie, Tobey and I onsite at Kennedy to enjoy the launch with his family from a closer spot that most of the public is allowed to go.
Visit the Space Shuttle Endeavour Set to enjoy more photos from the event.
What a blast - literally!